


Cmon, Mess Me Up (Fell in Love With Avoiding Problems)

by goldieknocks



Series: Chaos Dave [1]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Chaos Dave, Character Study, Dave 'I'll worry about that when it becomes a problem' Katz, Dave-centric, Falling In Love, Fluff, Humor, Internalized Homophobia, Klaus Hargreeves & David "Dave" Katz During Vietnam, Loose Unit Dave, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, POV David "Dave" Katz, Period-Typical Homophobia, Vietnam War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-18 07:20:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29485917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldieknocks/pseuds/goldieknocks
Summary: Leaving behind his secrets and overbearing family, David Katz ships off to Vietnam. He avoids facing uncomfortable truths while discovering his penchant for recklessness and mischief.Dave never thought that he would be brave enough to face this part of himself. Honestly? He is just here for a good time.Dave’s pretty sure his thing for Klaus is a recipe for disaster, but he’ll worry about that when it becomes a problem.
Relationships: Klaus Hargreeves/David "Dave" Katz
Series: Chaos Dave [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2165760
Comments: 38
Kudos: 66
Collections: EnKlave Fest 2021





	Cmon, Mess Me Up (Fell in Love With Avoiding Problems)

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is! My first ever fanfiction. A huge thank you to everyone in the Elliott’s House discord server for being so encouraging and on-board with my chaos Dave headcanon. 
> 
> Super special thanks to Anglophile-Rin for helping me brainstorm throughout the process and my AMAZING beta Saccha. Without either of them, this fic would have never seen the light of day. 
> 
> Lastly, I really hope you enjoy this fic, my prompt was Saigon. I took it some liberty with this but I hope that the OP enjoys what I’ve done with their prompt.

Dave Katz has always thought of himself as a fairly laid back kind of guy. For as long as he can remember, he's been slow to anger and happy to go with the flow. 

In truth, Dave just doesn’t see the point in worrying about something unless it is posing an immediate problem. And even then, Dave rarely gets that far. 

Honestly? Dave is just here for a good time. 

If his childhood friends wanted to see a movie, Dave was there and not particularly concerned about which one they saw. When his mother asked him what type of cake he wanted for his birthday, his standard response was "Surprise me!" 

At sixteen, Dave and his friends spend their afternoons making their own fun in a field outside town with a case of beers and his dad's rifle to shoot empty cans they would stack along a fence. On one particular occasion, Dave ends up having a bit too much fun. He remembers stumbling home past his curfew to his worried mother and furious father and drunkenly realising that he had a problem on his hands. Dave doesn't remember much from the rest of that night. Still, he remembers the stern lecture the next day from his father about consequences, responsibility and how he shouldn't be so eager to be led astray by his friends. 

By his father's account, Dave is a people pleaser who doesn’t think through the consequences of his actions. 

If Dave is honest with himself? He is inclined to agree. 

Dave's family has a proud military history. They expect him to enlist in the army, so that's what he does. He doesn't feel a pull from within himself to serve in the Vietnam War, but he doesn't feel a pull anywhere else, either. His father and his Uncle Brian are adamant that he follows in their footsteps and he figures, why not? He may as well enlist. 

There is really only one problem in his life that weighs heavily on Dave's mind, his attraction to other men. As a young man in Dallas in the 1960s, Dave is aware of his friends and family's attitudes towards people like him. If Dave’s family were to ever discover his secret, it would tear them apart. For a time, he does entertain vague fantasies of just coming clean about who he is, cutting his losses and running away. Maybe to San Francisco where queers like him can carve out an existence for themselves. 

At the end of the day, he opts to keep his family whole, join the army, and worry about the queer thing if it ever became a problem. 

\------

After Dave makes it through basic, the army immediately ships him off to the far side of the world. He lands in Saigon at the Tan Son Nhut Air Base before his unit is deployed north to the front line.

Compared to the mischief he got up to in his youth, the Vietnam War is unmitigated chaos. Despite the horror of the war, Dave’s confidence in his capabilities swells in the ‘baptism of fire’ that is active combat. 

About a month into his tour, Dave builds a reputation as a capable soldier within his squad. He doesn’t revel in the fighting, nor is he unnecessarily bloodthirsty, but his mettle is tested several times in the heat of battle. Dave admits to himself that after the action is over, the adrenaline rush of survival is thrilling each time. 

So far, Dave’s ability to stay calm in the face of intense pressure is serving him well. It’s never a guarantee that he will make it out unscathed from each skirmish, but he trains himself to only worry about life or death situations when they become a problem.

Their squad is stationed in Long Binh Army Base not far from Saigon, completing supply operations for the past few weeks, which results in a lot of downtime. Idle hands mean restlessness among the group, and Dave is one of the most enthusiastic in making his own fun with all that Long Binh has to offer. 

Which is how Dave found himself drunk off his ass in the base barbeque pit at two am, homemade tattoo gun in hand. He squints at Junior’s bicep and tries to remember what he was supposed to be tattooing. 

“Heyyyy Junior?” Dave asks, blinking to try and clear his swimming vision, “Hey man, how do you spell infantry again?” 

Junior’s brown eyes widen in alarm. “I - N - F - A - N -” 

“Awwww shit!” Dave snickers, gazing at his handiwork. “I’ve done you dirty on this tattoo.” 

Junior immediately brushes Dave away to try and inspect his arm, but can’t quite get the right angle. 

Dave takes the opportunity to chug more of his cheap Vietnamese beer before peering at Junior’s arm, his nose almost touching the tanned skin of the man’s bicep, “503rd INFINTRY... Junior, I told you I’m too wasted for this, man.” 

“Goddammit Katz, you said you were fine you asshole!” Junior cries, pulling at the skin of his arm to survey the damage Dave has wrought with the tattoo gun. The younger man’s strong jaw and thin mouth visibly tightens when he finds the dick with wings etched into his skin, in place of the Sky Soldiers insignia. 

Junior looks up at Dave, thunder on his young face, “How am I going to explain this to my girlfriend when I’m back home?!”

Dave throws his head back and cackles, over-balancing on his stool and landing in the dirt. As he lay there, giggling madly, a sudden weight slammed into him, pinning him to the ground. Junior’s tackled him, and they both start drunkenly wrestling in the loose gravel and dust. 

Tears of laughter stream down Dave’s face as he grabs Junior in a headlock. Junior’s tattoo was both his fault and not his problem. 

Eventually, the two tire themselves out; dirty and drunk they stumble their way back to the barracks. Dave’s arm is slung around Junior as they hold each other up, all the while promising, “Yeah man, a bit of shading will fix everything right up! We’ll get another pen from Boots, and you’ll see, your girlfriend won’t know the difference by the time I’m done with ya.” 

Junior snickers and shakes his head at Dave as they sneak through the rows of cots, both of them fumbling in the dark before settling down to sleep it off. 

\------

After their last month-long patrol of their AO, Dave’s squad is granted a couple of days of liberty. Back at Long Binh and keen to shake off the mud and bloodshed, Sarge clears them to head off-base and into downtown Saigon. 

Dave is not an easily led teen struggling to stay in the closet anymore; he’s a capable soldier with a reckless streak a mile wide struggling to stay in the closet. 

Who happened to be easily led into following the rest of the squad to Saigon’s red-light district. 

Doc, their squad’s combat medic, slings an arm around Dave’s shoulders as they weave their way through the streets of downtown Saigon. “Katz, man, don’t look so serious! Tonight is about having fun and getting blitzed.” He smiles toothily as they wander in and out of the heavy traffic. 

“Boys, I know just the place. The ladies there will show us all a good time and help you clear out the plumbing after a month in the jungle, if you know what I mean,” Junior chimes in, waggling his eyebrows as he fell into step beside Doc. 

Dave grins somewhat nervously. In hopes of stalling this adventure while he comes up with a plan, suggests, “Ha yeah, but we’ve only just started. The night is young, and I’m gonna need to get a few drinks in first.” 

Doc and Junior whoop and holler, as they rush ahead, getting excited for what was sure to be a fun night. 

They make their way up Bui Vien Street, Saigon’s infamous thoroughfare for brothels and bars. Its narrow footpaths and tall buildings with colourful signage attract GIs on liberty looking for a good time. Dave follows them into one of the many establishments frequented by American troops. 

Weaving his way through the crowded and dimly lit bar, Dave pushes down the ‘dead man walking’ feeling. He makes a beeline for the bar where he orders himself a shot of whiskey with a beer. 

Everything’s fine, he’s fine, he’s just going to drink a few drinks, loosen up and hit a brothel with the rest of the guys. This is not a problem, Dave can handle this, there is nothing to worry about. 

Dave spends the next few hours in a haze of knocking back shots and dancing before Doc came up to drag him off the dance floor. 

“C’mon Katz! It’s time to go.” 

Dave is _drunk_. He’s used their time at the bar to stall coming up with a plan for the ‘being the only queer in the brothel’ thing, and he’d decided to throw alcohol at the situation instead. But it's ok, Dave’s feeling good, and there is nothing to stress about here. 

Hazy, carefree, and having consumed what felt like his body weight in beers and whiskey, Dave stumbles along, happy to follow Doc back through the busy street. 

Dave feels his head swim and the world tilt as they find themselves in the back room of a seedy bar. He’s too far gone to follow the conversations and negotiations between Junior and the madam. Still, before Dave knows it, a young ( _too young_ Dave’s mind supplies) Vietnamese girl takes his hand and leads him up a narrow corridor into another room. 

Dave’s vision is whirling, and his balance is failing him as he crawls onto the bed with relief. He takes a few moments to watch the room spin around him lazily. This is ok; this is manageable. He can totally handle what is about to happen. 

It takes him a few moments to register that small, tanned hands are unbuttoning his fly and working their way inside his pants. Oh, this is going to be a problem. 

“No! Oh, um….” Dave clumsily paws at the girl’s hands, “No, no thank you, you don’t need to do that.” 

He gently pushes the girl’s hands away from him before rolling over onto his stomach as she asks him something in stilted English. Dave is too far gone to register the question. To be honest, he is beyond worrying about his immediate circumstances; he just really wants to fall into unconsciousness for a little while. Maybe then the girl will get the hint, and he can sober up a bit.

“Here’s your money,” he mumbles, fumbling for his wallet and dropping it onto the bed. “I’m jus’... jus’ gonna have a lil’ nap, your bed is really comfy, and the room is spinny. Can you wake me up when my time is over?” 

The girl huffs and starts rifling through his billfold; Dave decides he’ll worry about how much she took later. 

He has more immediate needs. Like holding onto the bed for dear life, and praying that the room stops spinning before he falls off the edge of the world. 

Disoriented and still drunk, Dave wakes to small hands shaking his shoulder. He blearily opens his eyes and takes in his surroundings, slowly rolling himself up into a sitting position. The girl smiles as she shows him to the door. 

He staggers out into the corridor, and he nearly runs into Junior as Dave shuffles along holding onto the wall.

“Katz man, you look wrecked, did Mai show you too much of a good time?” Junior pats Dave on the back and takes the arm not holding onto the wall over his shoulder. 

Dave lets out a high-pitched giggle as he thinks about how much money his little trip to unconsciousness must have cost him. “Naw…I got whiskey dick, man. It was the most expensive nap I’ve ever had.” 

Junior barks out an awed laugh and reaches up to ruffle Dave’s hair, causing the corridor to spin nauseatingly, “Don’t worry Katz; it’s happened to the best of us.” 

With that, they meet up with the rest of the squad and Junior leads Dave out the door, flagging down a cyclo rickshaw. There is no way Dave’s making it to the barracks under his own steam. Dave slumps down in his seat and struggles to stay awake on the trip back to base. 

Tonight has been fun, everything is still going OK, and Dave is still firmly flying under the radar with his squad. He doesn’t need to worry about this queer thing until it becomes a problem, and so far, he’s had his whole situation under control. 

Dave’s still having a good time, and that is all that matters.

\------

Some weeks later, Dave’s squad is back out on deployment on the A Shau Valley’s frontlines. Dave has not long been asleep in the barracks at firebase when a sudden flash of blue light wakes him. Squinting as he props himself up on one arm, he is surprised to meet with wide, confused green eyes. The man blinking up at him, mouth agape, is clad only in a bath towel and a trench coat, clutching a black briefcase. 

_What the hell?_ Dave wonders, _Where did this guy come from?_

At that moment the tent explodes into a hive of activity as Sarge bursts into the barracks and rouses the squad to arms. Dave hears explosions outside, and the sound of rapid gunfire as everyone on base responds to the threat in the jungle. 

Dave quickly gathers his gear as Sarge rips the guy in the towel a new one. He must be a shellshocked FNG. Hell knows why he’s dressed like that though.

“Katz! Get this man operational and get him a pair of pants. Let’s go!” Sarge bellows before turning back to berate the FNG.

Dave scrambles to throw a set of spare fatigues at the dark-haired man before making his way outside. He’s not going to miss out on the action because Sarge made him a de-facto babysitter. The FNG is not his problem.

Dave grabs his M16, makes sure he’s got a cache of ammo and rushes out to the darkened jungle. He finds cover in the underbrush beside Doc, the medic scanning the night for threats. Dave settles in close to the ground, Doc doing the same on his right-hand side, ready for any Charlies dumb enough to enter their line of sight. 

He hears a branch snap behind them, and with his heart in his throat, Dave rolls quickly onto his back, pointing his gun up at the enemy. His eyes take a moment to take in the figure, and Dave realises he’s aimed his rifle right into the panicked face of the FNG. 

Unbelievably, the man somehow made it out of camp with nothing but a set of oversized fatigues, and that ridiculous briefcase clutched so tightly in his hands, Dave can see the bloodless white of his knuckles in the dim light. Having assessed the threat, Dave lowers the barrel of his M16 from the man’s face and takes in the wide eyes, shaky hands, and apparent injuries. 

_Fucking hell,_ Dave thinks, _this guy is a massive liability out here. He doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground._

Rolling his eyes, Dave silently directs him to drop to the ground and stay close. Looks like he’s going to end up babysitting anyway. The man flinches and covers his ears as bullets whiz past their location. 

Dave immediately flips back around and places the stock of his M16 to his shoulder. It’s go time. There is nothing for Doc and Dave to do but fight their way out and hope that they don’t die tonight, babysitting the new guy. But Dave will worry about that if it becomes a problem. 

After a tense fight, the men in Dave’s unit live to see the next morning. They load up and head out from the firebase to their AO for a patrol, heading deeper into the A Shau Valley and weeding out VC from their patch of jungle and villages. It's dirty, dangerous work, but Dave doesn’t mind it. 

While sitting next to Doc on the troop carrier transporting their unit, he notices that the new guy is seated slightly in front of him. Dave takes the opportunity to size him up. 

The man is quiet, sitting by himself and still lugging that briefcase with him under the bench seat. Dave can see that he’s in shock, eyes wide and staring into the distance. 

Dave shuffles up to sit just behind him and gently touches his shoulder.

“You just get in-country?” 

“Oh? Uh…yeah,” the man turns slightly, startled before registering that Dave is speaking to him. He turns more fully towards Dave and cracks a shaky smile, white teeth standing out on his dirty, sweaty face.

Dave can’t help but smile back, “Shit’s crazy, I know, but you’ll adjust.” 

Dave gives him a once over, taking in the lean arms, the sculpted cheekbones and slightly crooked but refined nose. The man continues to smile uncertainly at Dave, apparently grateful to find a friendly face amongst strangers.

“I’m Dave.” 

“Klaus.”

Klaus clasps Dave’s outstretched hand, and Dave’s brain seems to just kinda… stop. It’s not lost on Dave that Klaus is good-looking. And the whole tall, toned and dark-haired look that Klaus has going on hits a lot of the buttons Dave already knows he has. But that uncertain, almost shy smile and those earnest green eyes? Holy shit. 

Ok, Dave may have spoken too soon. This queer thing may prove to be a problem. 

\----------

It turns out, Klaus is the opposite of shy. Over the following weeks of patrolling through the jungle in their unit, Klaus slowly starts to come out of his shell as he adjusts to life in an active warzone. He’s loud, funny and mischievous, and seems to take immense pleasure in revving up Sarge’s temper with his blatant disregard for rules or military etiquette. Dave doesn’t know where Klaus came from, but he’s surprised the guy got past basic with his penchant for pissing off authority. 

Dave supposes this war really will take anyone. 

As Klaus warms up, Dave finds himself in possession of a new shadow. Apparently, Klaus has decided that Dave is the one to show him the ropes of life in Vietnam, and is now a permanent fixture at Dave’s side, following him around like a demented, lanky duckling. 

To be honest, Dave doesn’t mind that Klaus seems to seek him out. Klaus is a fun guy. He has the same penchant for mischief as Dave and tells some of the wildest stories Dave has ever heard. If even half of Klaus’ stories are true, he seems like a guy who is here for a good time too, and Dave can dig that. 

Klaus particularly likes to rile up Sarge, a short man in his 30’s who makes up for his lack of height with his caustic personality. Dave knows that Sarge was 100% done with Klaus’ shit about one week into his time in the squad. Klaus seems to take great pleasure in casually using Sarge’s head as a leaning post, resting his arm on Sarge’s helmet or shoulder at any given moment. Dave very much enjoys Sarge’s now near-constant eye twitch and Klaus’ status as ‘the dumbest fucking private Sarge has ever seen’. 

“Hey, Sarge?” Klaus asks. They’re returning from patrol and have a few miles left before arriving back at the firebase. The squad are exhausted, but today had been relatively uneventful, so spirits are high as they trudge back through the countryside. 

Sarge’s eye is already twitching. “The fuck you want now, Hargreeves?” 

Klaus’ face breaks out into a mischievous grin. “Can I call you Big Sarge? I feel like it’s befitting a man of your-” 

“Shut the fuck up Hargreeves, or I’ll have you doing flutter kicks from dawn till dusk.” Sarge turns to Junior. “Give him the SFQ rock, Junior.” 

Dave can’t help but snicker at Klaus’ bewilderment as Sarge walks ahead slightly, this conversation definitely went in a direction Klaus hadn’t prepared for. 

Junior gleefully pulls a rock the size of his fist out of his fatigue pocket and gladly hands it over to Klaus. 

“What is an SFQ rock?”

“The Stupid Fucking Question rock, Hargreeves,” Dave supplies. 

Junior has a smirk on his face, intensely glad to be rid of the thing.

“Sarge assigns it to you to carry if you ask a stupid fucking question. I’ve been carrying it around for a week now.” Junior’s face falls a bit, recalling how often he seems to have possession of the rock. 

Klaus looks positively delighted. “You mean, Big Sarge just gave me permission to carte blanche ask as many dumb questions as I want? Hell yeah!” 

Dave looks to Klaus, who caresses the SFQ rock lovingly, and holds it up close to his cheek. Klaus isn’t going to hog the rock if Dave has anything to say about it.

“Hey, Big Sarge?” Dave calls out, his lips twitching up into a sly grin. Klaus’ gaze snaps to him, eyes wide with awe at the new nickname catching on. “If a turtle loses its shell, is it naked or homeless?” 

Sarge’s face turns an interesting shade of red. “Katz, it’d be fucking dead. Just like you’re gonna be in a minute if you don’t stop asking stupid goddamn questions. Hargreeves, give him the rock.” 

Klaus lets out a cackle and tosses the rock to Dave. They spend the rest of the day playing hot potato with it while coming up with increasingly more absurd questions for Sarge. 

Klaus dubs the rock, ‘Rocky’, who he claims as his adopted child and most precious burden to carry. It's not the most original name Dave has ever heard, but the name has already caught on. 

Sarge eventually loses his shit with both of them, making them run drills until they puke upon returning to the firebase. 

Dropping to the ground after losing his lunch, Dave rolls over in the dust and gravel and squints up into Sarge’s stern face. Klaus collapses next to him with Rocky by his side, chest heaving from exertion but face creased with his laughter. Dave doesn’t know what compels him to keep this game going, he knows he’s only going to get more punishment, but he loves to see Klaus laughing. So he ups the ante once again, he’ll worry about Sarge and the consequences of his choices later.

“Hey, Big Sarge! Does a centaur feed its babies with its human tits or its horse tits?”

Klaus laughs so hard he lets out a ridiculous snort, and embarrassed, brings a hand up to cover his mouth. Once Klaus has started though, the snort laughs don’t stop, and he rolls onto his side away from Dave, wheezing, “Stop it…I can’t breathe!” 

The noises Klaus makes as he tries to get himself under control cause Dave to dissolve into helpless giggles. Dave gazes at his back and thinks the price they paid for their fucking around was entirely worth it. 

\------

Klaus is a bit of a mess. 

During their deployment he and Klaus become _tight._ Dave would probably go as far as saying that Klaus is the closest friend Dave has ever had. He’s definitely not going to acknowledge any other random, non-helpful thoughts that pop up when Klaus does things like smile or breathe or sleep or walk. Nope, this Klaus thing is definitely not a problem. 

Even so, despite their closeness, Klaus keeps a certain distance with Dave. With everyone really. He’s secretive, and when the squad are sitting in the mess hall or camped out shooting the shit, Klaus avoids talking about himself. 

Most of the guys, including Dave, will pass hours of boredom telling stories from back home or talking about what they want to do when their tour is over and they get their ticket back to the world. 

Not Klaus. 

Dave notices Klaus is an excellent deflector, asking others rapid-fire questions and playing off any questions in return with his off-the-wall banter. It’s hard to get Klaus to drop his guard even an inch. 

Dave knows that Klaus thinks he’s fooling everyone with his loud mouth, but Dave has taken to _really_ watching the man. He’s noticed that Klaus has moments of quiet introspection, skillfully avoiding others when he’s in these moods and taking himself away to dwell on whatever it is that’s instigated his change in attitude. 

Dave also notices the way Klaus’ hands shake when they’ve been too long in the jungle. The way he checks and re-checks his pockets and pack for stashes of powders, mushrooms and grass. Cut off from whoever Klaus’ suppliers are, and in no position to source more, he starts to obviously go through withdrawal. Dave notices.

Pale, glassy-eyed and withdrawn—Klaus is an addict. Dave ain’t no square, he uses the freely available drugs here to while away hours this shithole too, but anyone with eyes can see that Klaus isn’t using just to pass the time. 

Dave doesn’t say anything, he knows that Klaus will avoid all conversation about anything approaching a serious topic. Hell, Dave knows that if he were to judge Klaus for that, it would be like the proverbial pot and kettle. 

They’ve been out in the jungle for nearly three weeks, and Klaus’ stash ran out a few days ago. Dave tries to help out when he can, taking Klaus’ pack for him when he looks ready to drop while marching or making sure he eats at least _something_ from his C Rations. 

One evening, as they’re camped out, Dave keeps a close eye on Klaus all night. He seems sullen and exhausted, and Dave has been pretty worried the entire day. 

Just as a friend, worrying for his best friend. 

Dave’s chest definitely doesn’t feel like an elephant is sitting on it when he notices Klaus hunched over behind a tree near their makeshift camp after dinner. He definitely doesn’t have a problem on his hands. He’s just looking out for Klaus like he would any other brother in arms.

Dave is lying in his bedroll, drifting in the space between awareness and sleep, struggling to make it over the line to unconsciousness whenever he hears a sound from the jungle. He stirs from his light doze when he detects distressed murmuring beside him. 

Peering into the darkness, he can just make out Klaus’ restless form. He’s muttering in his sleep, and Dave rolls over slightly to gently touch Klaus’ shoulder. Plenty of men in the shit with Dave are plagued with nightmares, Klaus isn’t the first, and he won’t be the last. 

“Klaus…” he whispers, shaking his shoulder more firmly. 

Klaus shoots up from his bedroll with a gasp. His eyes flying open and his hands coming up to shield his head as he curls into a ball. 

“Hey Klaus, are you ok?” he tries again. 

Klaus’ arms fall away from his face as he comes back to reality. He quickly scrambles out of his bedroll, grabs his flack jacket, and pads off toward the edge of camp without a word to Dave. 

Dave chews on his lip as he watches Klaus go. On the one hand, he really wants to respect the boundaries for their relationship that Klaus has established, but on the other, they’re in dangerous territory, and Klaus has left without back up or his M16. Dave is worried an entirely normal amount. 

His concern wins out, and he quietly gathers up his machine gun and vest and follows in the direction Klaus was headed. It takes a few minutes to get his bearings in the darkness, but Dave sees Klaus sitting at the base of a tree at the edge of the clearing where they’ve made camp. 

Dave approaches and sits down quietly next to Klaus, both men settling with their legs stretched out in front. A cigarette dangles from Klaus’ mouth, his shaky hands patting down the pockets of his flack jacket, trying and failing to locate his lighter. 

Dave fishes his own lighter out of his back pocket and leans over to light the cherry of Klaus cigarette. Klaus inhales and exhales the smoke with a sigh of relief.

“Can I bum a smoke?” 

Klaus silently hands over his tin of Camels and Dave takes one out, lights it and takes a drag. 

He feels the smoke sit in his lungs for a second or two before exhaling, and he nudges Klaus lightly with his foot. 

“I’m not good with feelings and shit, but, if you wanted to talk about it, I’d listen,” Dave says quietly. 

Klaus exhales a puff of smoke with a huff, wiping his eyes with the back of his free hand. Dave doesn’t acknowledge the tears. 

Klaus looks at Dave from under damp lashes, dark hair blending in with the night around them and the whites of his eyes shining wetly despite the minimal light. 

“I’m not sure you’d believe me,” he says bitterly, taking another drag of his cigarette. They sit in silence for a few more moments, just taking in each other’s quiet presence. 

Klaus sighs once more and leans over to rest his shoulder against Dave’s. “Can we just stay here? It’s easier to find some quiet when there’s someone alive around.” 

Dave really doesn’t know how to interpret Klaus’ comment - people get all kinds of fucked up in ‘Nam - but he leans into the contact and lets Klaus rest his head on Dave’s shoulder. Dave’s stomach definitely doesn’t erupt into a mess of butterflies at the physical touch. And he definitely doesn’t feel something clench in his chest when he sees that way Klaus seems to relax at their closeness. 

_Fuck._

This Klaus thing _might_ be a bit of a problem.

\------

They have a few weeks downtime and recovery running supply operations for other units in the region. Klaus spends his time replenishing his stash and pretty quickly bounces back to his usual boisterous and happy-go-lucky self. 

Klaus and Dave pointedly don’t acknowledge that evening in the jungle, and Dave begins to wonder if he just made the whole thing up. 

Dave's squad is currently trekking along a well-established trail. Their objective is to meet up with a supply operation before heading back out into their AO. Klaus and Dave walk shoulder-to-shoulder along soggy, muddy tracks previously carved through the jungle undergrowth, their boots covered in a fine layer of mud. Mosquitoes buzz around their ears and foliage sticks to their sweaty skin as they traipse behind Junior in front of them. 

It's then that Dave notices that Junior has left part of his pack open. He grins. It’s time for a game of heavy rucksack. Dave scans the ground as they trek through the jungle picking up rocks along the trail, from small pebbles to the size of his fist. He starts storing a few in his flak jacket, but he starts out small with a stone and quietly, stealthily moves closer to Junior’s back. 

Dave can feel Klaus’ eyes on him, as he slowly reaches out, and deposits the pebble in the open compartment of Junior’s pack before swiftly darting back to where Klaus is. Dave grins at Klaus as they fall back in step with each other. 

Klaus winks at Dave and makes a show of taking Rocky out of his pocket, holding the rock up to his face and cooing, “Don’t you worry, Daddy would never give you away! You have nothing to worry about, you’re my pride and joy.” 

Dave grins before pressing his pointer finger to his lips and silently directs Klaus to continue passing him rocks from off the trail. Klaus blows Rocky a kiss before tucking them securely into a pocket in his fatigues, patting the bulging fabric fondly and bending over to start collecting other, less precious rocks.

With a larger rock in hand, Dave darts forward again and deposits it into Junior’s rucksack, while Klaus stifles a laugh behind his hand. They make eye contact and grin, an unspoken agreement now between them. They both spend the next few hours passing each other rocks and debris with which to fill up Junior’s rucksack. 

Occasionally, Junior is alerted by movement behind him. Klaus is excellent at running interference for Dave, claiming to be brushing mosquitoes off Junior's back for him, with a flourish of his hands along the man’s shoulders. Dave can’t help but let a few chuckles escape at the perplexed look Junior gives Klaus each time this happens. 

Eventually, they reach their rendezvous point in a small clearing a few miles from the target village and take a break to refill their canteens and receive further instructions before proceeding. 

“Fuck me, I’m gassed,” Junior grumbles as he sits down on the forest floor to rest. “My pack feels like it weighs a fuckin’ ton.” 

Klaus can’t hold it in any longer as Junior inspects his bag to find a compartment filled with heavy rocks. Klaus doubles over, his breathy laugh ringing out amongst the group. Dave also loses it as he watches tears of mirth roll down Klaus’ face. Klaus struggles to breathe through his laughter. Dave gives in to his laughter as well and collapses down to the forest floor cackling while Junior shoots them dour looks as he empties his pack. 

As he gets his laughter under control, Dave can’t help but be taken off guard by how brilliant green Klaus’ eyes are as they shine with his laughter. Dave must have a weird expression on his face because Klaus shoots him a questioning look, and Dave just shakes himself off before smiling in return. 

Dave pushes down the warm feeling in his chest at seeing Klaus happy. This Klaus thing really isn’t going to be a problem, Dave has absolutely nothing to worry about, and he isn’t going to think about it.

\------

Dave is dying. It is so goddamn hot. He is sweating bullets while clearing jungle underbrush, machete in hand. Their platoon was given the task of setting up a new bunker and firebase in the dense jungle. About 200 feet away, Sarge, Doc and a few others are cutting down trees using chainsaws and various machinery. 

Dave, Klaus and Junior alongside a few privates have the unenviable task of clearing the dense undergrowth by hand. It’s grunt work, hot and dirty, and they have been at it for hours. Dave feels sweat trickle down his back. Rivulets of sweat slide down his face, falling into his eyes. He wipes his face with the bottom of his t-shirt.

They need to complete the bunker before nightfall, and they are on a time crunch. Junior is wrestling his way through a thick patch of dense leaves and vines, sweat pouring down his red face, his chest puffing hard. 

“Fuck it, I need some Jungle AC,” Junior says, unzipping his fly and trying to use his shirt like a sail to get airflow under the thin fabric. 

Dave puts his machete down and follows suit. Ah, sweet _relief._

Klaus does a double-take, “What the hell are you two doing?”

Dave chuckles. “When you’ve been here long enough, Jungle AC is the only thing between you and a killer case of jock itch. It gets the airflow going around the bits. Try it!”

Klaus looks sceptical. “Aren’t you worried about leeches and ticks?”

Dave shrugs and goes back to cutting through the dense understory, fly open and shirt bunched up around his neck. “I’ll worry about that if it becomes a problem.”

Klaus shakes his head and declines to take them up on their plan to work the rest of the day with his crotch exposed to the humid air and the forest’s plant life. 

They all get back to work and continue clearing the site. 

Dave briefly overhears Klaus grumble under his breath. “I’m a homeless drug addict, and even I think the hygiene standards here are lax.”

Klaus does at least take his vest off and leave it hanging from the back pocket of his fatigues. Dave pretends not to notice that Klaus’ lean yet defined physique is covered in sweat from exertion. That’s definitely not something he should be thinking about with his fly open in public.

They finish the clearing by lunchtime and get a moment to sit down and rest. Dave pours a whole canteen of water over his head which had disappointingly grown hot in the midday sun. He may as well have had a warm bath. 

The rest of the day is spent erecting tents and amenity blocks to service the soldiers who called the new firebase home. By the end of the evening, the men are all desperate to use the freshly constructed shower rig and get clean. Dave sits on his cot, he removes his boots and socks ahead of his shower when he spies a few leeches that have made their home on his ankles. Leeches are a part of life in ‘Nam, and Dave simply grabs his lighter and starts to burn them off. 

Dave and the men get to the shower rig, an open-air structure with large barrels of water rigged above the platform they’d constructed earlier that day. Dave has just stripped off and starts to wash when he notices an odd lump uncomfortably close to his groin area. 

He looks down. 

“Oh, fuck!” 

There, right there, uncomfortably close to his dick is a leech. The shiny black body is engorged with blood and happily sucking away at Dave’s groin.

Panicking, Dave shuffles over to his pile of clothes and starts searching for his lighter. He finds it and flicks the flint wheel holding the flame close to the disgusting bloodsucker. Unfortunately, the flame is also dangerously close to precious parts of Dave’s anatomy that he wants to protect at all costs. 

“Please tell me you’re not going to put an open flame near your dick?”

Dave looks up, embarrassed, to find Klaus standing under the water spray, looking at Dave. Klaus is absolutely gobsmacked, his eyes wide with disbelief.

“Uhh…” Dave flicks off the lighter and straightens up. 

Klaus turns off the water and starts gathering his clothes. Dave honestly just wants to sink into the floor and disappear from this plane of existence. 

He vaguely registers that the leech is still in situ while Klaus redresses his lithe body, and all Dave can do is stand there like an absolute idiot with his dick out and his lighter in his hands. God, what is his life? 

“Dave, Dave, Dave...I told you! Your Jungle AC is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard of.” Klaus titters to himself as he shakes his head. 

Klaus breezes past, a smirk plastered on his handsome face. “I’d offer to give you a hand...But I think that might put us in a very precarious position, no?”

Dave’s brain completely shuts down. His hands creep to cover his crotch preemptively. Dave is not sure where this conversation was going, and he wants to be prepared in case his dick betrays him for a second time tonight.

Klaus throws him a mischievous wink and swans off to the mess hall. Dave can hear him laughing the whole way there, the asshole.

He glances back down at his most immediate problem. 

Fuck, this honestly is a problem. This is something he should be worried about. Some of Dave’s most favourite body parts are in the direct line of fire. 

Now that Klaus and his unhelpful teasing are gone, Dave realises he’s the last one left at the showers. He decides to just double down on Plan A. Dave flicks the lighter again and gives his trusty leech removal method another go. Aside from walking away with a few singed pubes, he is ultimately successful. 

When he arrives at the mess, Klaus has saved a seat for him. Dave’s face burns a deep, hot red that he can feel as he enters the line to grab his meal. He heads over to sit down next to Klaus and is met with the sound of Klaus’ ridiculous snort laughs as he fills the rest of the squad in on Dave’s delicate situation. 

If Dave spends time alone in his bunk that night picturing Klaus’ wet, naked body and replaying his suggestive teasing over and over in his head, well...It was no one else’s problem, but Dave’s. Holy hell it was becoming a problem. 

\------

The squad have one last month-long deployment before they are granted some much-needed liberty in Saigon. God, if Dave never sees the jungle again, it would be too soon. 

The entire platoon heads north, into a village known to be a stronghold for Viet Cong forces. The situation is precarious, and the men in the unit are serious and on edge as they move into their position just outside the village proper. 

There’s no joking at this point. The unit is heading into danger, good men will potentially lose their lives by the time the fighting is done. None of them gives a shit about the ideology behind the war anymore. They’ve all seen enough to know that this war is a shitshow and the justification for America’s presence here is thin. All any of them want to do is make it long enough to get their ticket back to the world. 

They slowly make their way into the village. Clearing houses systematically, they move through the town’s outskirts and keep their eyes peeled for potential VC boltholes. Sarge leads them in formation, and as they make their way towards what looks like a small storage shed, shots ring out. 

Dave throws himself behind the wall of a nearby thatch-roof house as bullets whizz past. His heart is going off like a jackhammer in his chest, and he takes a quick moment to control his breath. He wills his body to calm down. Dave looks away from the direction of the gunfire to assess the unit’s state of play. 

The houses in this village are a tactical nightmare, they’re made of wood and raised up on stilts with open doorways. Ideal for airflow in the humid jungle but definitely not up to the task of withstanding heavy machine gunfire. 

The enemy pins Dave and Klaus down behind the house, with minimal cover and nowhere to go. The position they’ve found themselves in is a massive fucking problem. 

Dave looks to Klaus and a look of mutual understanding of just how screwed they are passes between them as their eyes meet. They’re both crouched down, M16’s at the ready. Dave signals for Klaus to lay down cover fire so that he can get a better look at what they’re up against. 

Klaus nods, ducks into position, and lays down cover fire in the direction of the enemy. 

Dave partially ducks out from behind their position. He can see Sarge, Doc, and a few others pinned down behind another building to his right. He scans the area to the left of Klaus, but there’s no sign of Junior. 

Then Dave sees him. About 15 feet in front of their position, Junior is stuck in an absolute clusterfuck of a spot. He’s taken what little cover he can behind a small wooden gate attached to a pen for someone’s livestock. 

_Fuck._

Junior is holding the junction between his neck and shoulder, and Dave sees blood on the ground. Junior’s in trouble, and they need to get on top of this situation _right now._

Dave waves to get the rest of the unit to notice him, and gestures to convey Junior’s position and situation to the others. He takes a deep breath, and when he hears a reduction in the amount of gunfire ahead, Dave makes a break for it. 

The second he leaves cover and enters the open area between himself and Junior, the bullets renew with a vengeance. Dave ducks and weaves as he runs. He can hear and _feel_ the shots fly past as he moves. He makes it to Junior and notes the sound of cover fire from the rest of the squad behind him. 

“Junior! Where are you hit?” Dave crouches down beside him. 

Junior looks at him, eyes wide and panicky but coherent. “My shoulder man, there’s fuckin’ blood everywhere.” 

Dave surveys the growing blood on Junior’s flak jacket, the stain spreads out from under his hand where it’s clamped over his right shoulder. 

“You and I are going to make a break for it. You’ll get to Doc, and we’ll get you out of here.” Dave points to the building where Doc and the rest of the unit are positioned. 

“I’m gonna lay down cover for you, and you’re gonna run fast, you hear?” Junior gives a grim nod, Dave turns back in the direction of the VC soldiers and puts the stock of his M16 to his shoulder.

“Go! Now!”

Dave fires his machine gun in rapid bursts, and Junior makes his break for the cover of the house. Once Dave is sure Junior’s made it back, he focuses again on finding the enemy in front of him. 

_There._

Dave spots a piece of corrugated iron sheeting leant up against a doorway in a building up ahead. He can see the muzzles of the VC guns. Dave has a read on the enemy; he can make a good clean shot from his current location. 

“Katz! Fall back!” Sarge calls out. Dave ignores him.

_He can do this._

Dave sees one of the soldiers pop up slightly from his position, and he lets out a short burst of bullets. The soldier goes down. 

His success means the other soldier has clocked Dave’s position. Nothing to be done for it now. He won’t be able to fall back safely, he’s going to have to take this one out too. 

The enemy soldier returns fire, Dave can feel a bullet graze his helmet. Startled by the contact, he jerks his arm up to protect his head. Then, he feels an impact to his bicep. 

Fuck, he’s definitely in trouble now. 

It’s OK, he’s going to get out of this. Yes, Dave has a massive problem on his hands, but losing his cool will _not_ help matters. 

He listens for a break in the fire and brings his gun back up to his shoulder, he’s at the ready. Dave squints down the sight of his M16 as he waits for the right opportunity. There is blood soaking through the sleeve of his shirt, but he ignores it. Dave finds his moment, and he takes his shot. With another spray of bullets, the second soldier falls.

Dave waits. 

He can hear bullets and explosions on the far side of the village, but their area has gone quiet. He keeps his gun up, but keeps low to the ground and makes his way back to Sarge to regroup and report. 

The unit manages to regroup. Klaus makes his way over to the squad after the order is given by Sarge. 

Junior and Dave remain behind with Doc, while the remaining soldiers sweep the area and give the all-clear. Junior’s wound is a bit more complicated, but he’ll survive after getting proper medical treatment back at base. Dave is getting his arm dressed, watching Doc work his magic with field dressings. He’s fine, the adrenaline dump still coursing through his veins, and the bullet luckily went through the flesh of his bicep cleanly. 

He feels slightly giddy at the familiar feeling of having survived a clusterfuck of a situation and coming out the other side mostly unscathed.

Klaus swiftly makes his way over to Dave, long legs eating up the distance between them and panic in his eyes. 

“Are you OK?!” 

Dave smiles up at him. “Yeah, it went clean through! I’ll be right as rain in no time, kinda hurts like a bitch though.” 

“Oh, thank God.” With that, Klaus hauls his arm back and punches Dave hard, fist landing square on his jaw. 

“OW! What the hell was that for?” he yelps, “Aren’t I already injured enough?” 

Klaus looks at him hotly, the fury in his eyes and his scowl conveying that he is not joking around right now. 

“You absolute, fucking _idiot!_ ” Klaus hisses through clenched teeth. Doc snickers at Klaus’ insult as he finalises tying off the bandage on Dave’s arm. “Do you have any idea how dumb and brave that was? You could have been _killed._ ” 

Dave is taken aback, Klaus’ face is a picture of anxiety and worry. His mouth drawn into a straight line and his forehead creased. His anger quickly loses steam, and he’s now chewing at his lip and fiddling with his rifle. 

Doc moves off to assist in transporting Junior back to base for medical treatment. Suddenly alone, the silence hangs between them uncomfortably. 

Dave swallows uncomfortably. “I’m sorry,” 

The air feels heavy, and Dave fidgets with his dog tags. He can’t meet Klaus’ intense gaze, and his heart feels like it’s sitting in his throat.

With a soft exhale, Klaus’ face softens into a small smile of fondness after a few moments. 

“How will we co-parent Rocky if you’re not around?” he chuckles. It’s an olive branch, and Dave takes it. 

“I’m sure one of the other guys would be happy to have joint custody.” 

“Typical, Katz, always trying to dodge your parental duties to our darling Rocky.”

Klaus reaches out his hand and places it on the shoulder of Dave’s good arm, giving him a light pat before letting his hand rest there. The touch is electric, and Dave’s skin tingles where Klaus’ long, elegant fingers brush his bare skin. 

Klaus gently guides him back to the group. As they walk, the feeling of being worried about and cared for loosens something in Dave’s chest. His heart is still beating a mile a minute, but Dave is smart enough to know that it’s not the result of the intense combat they’ve seen today. 

God, between his heart and his dick, can he not have a moment's peace? 

\------

Dave is out of the jungle, his arm is on the mend, and the whole squad has been let loose on Saigon. He has three days stretching ahead of him in the bustling city, and all his plans revolve around Klaus. 

Dave calls it. This Klaus thing is officially a problem, and Dave doesn’t know what to do with that information at this point. 

They book a few rooms in a seedy motel, so they have a ‘home base’ while they relax and have some fun. 

They spend their first day in Ben Thanh Market, on the south side of the city. Dave spends the entire time following Klaus around the busy stalls, eating street food, while Klaus spends _hours_ picking up some civvies so they can hit the bars with the other guys that night. 

Klaus is like a kid in a candy store. 

Eventually, Klaus settles on an outfit, an interesting combination of a striped yellow shirt and navy striped pants, both of which don’t meet each other across his midriff; leaving a strip of his slender waist exposed. 

Dave _cannot_ stop staring at that sliver of skin. He wonders what it would be like to put his hands there and caress - 

Klaus grabs Dave’s arm and jerks him out of his train of thought. Klaus escorts him into the bar to meet up with the rest of the guys for their night out. Dave really needs to get a hold of himself. 

The bar is dimly lit with a shining disco ball above the dance floor and various lamps casting an orange glow throughout the seating areas along the edges of the room. Dave sees that the bar has multiple alcoves and side rooms where patrons can have privacy. 

Distracted, he lets Klaus lead him up to the bar, which is packed with sailors and GIs on liberty alongside local Vietnamese patrons. They spot the rest of their unit at a bunch of bar tables that have been hastily pushed together to accommodate them. 

Klaus orders a whole bottle of whiskey with his meagre MPCs (Dave has noticed Klaus trades most of what he earns to keep his stash nice and well-stocked). They bring the bottle and shot glasses over to the table where the rest of the guys are chatting up and buying drinks for a couple of pretty Vietnamese girls in shift dresses and go-go boots. 

Dave pours out a round of shots for the table, and they clink glasses before downing them. 

“Another!” Klaus exclaims, already picking up the bottle to refill their glasses. 

Dave picks up his refilled drink, and Klaus immediately sneaks his arm around Dave’s, hooking it over so that their limbs are locked together while they knock back their shots. It’s so _intimate_ , their faces so close to touching, and Klaus is trying not to laugh as his lips wrap around the lip of the glass while staring playfully into Dave’s eyes. 

Dave feels like he’s having an out-of-body experience. How can Klaus not realise how flirtatious he’s being right now? 

“C’mon Dave, let's get our groove on! I wanna see your moves,” Klaus says with a wiggle of his eyebrows and a nod towards the dancefloor.

For Dave, the air feels like it’s been sucked out of the room. Klaus grabs his hand and drags him out onto the dancefloor, and Dave feels slightly breathless. How is he going to survive this?

They start to move their bodies to the music as The Doors blast over the sound system. Dave struggles with how flustered, loose, and out of control, he is feeling. He starts to unbutton his pale blue shirt, leaving a vast expanse of his chest exposed. God, this is just too much, how is he going to survive three days of this with Klaus? 

Does Klaus even know what he’s doing to Dave with his body and his smile and his flirting? 

The next few hours pass in a haze of drinking, dancing and heated glances as they both get progressively drunker. 

Dave starts to forget himself, wrapped up in the teasing and wandering touches with Klaus on the dance floor. He’s sweaty and dizzy, and he soon finds himself tucked away with Klaus in one of the many alcoves scattered around the bar. 

Their faces are close, drinks in hand and they’re giggling together at nonsense jokes like they always do, but there’s something different there. The air feels charged with electricity and Klaus’ hair is a tangled mess while his eyes are deep and intense in their stare. 

For Dave, there’s no more avoiding it. His heart, dick, and head are all in agreement. This Klaus thing cannot be ignored a moment longer. 

So, in a seedy bar in Saigon’s infamous red-light district, Dave says fuck it and decides to take his shot. 

He brings his right hand up to softly cup Klaus’ face. Klaus closes his eyes, nuzzles into the touch, and reaches out to touch Dave’s waist. Klaus brings his lips to Dave’s, and for a moment, Dave is stunned. 

Their lips brush together softly, and something within Dave lights up. Klaus’ lips are soft, and he tastes of whiskey and cigarettes. His facial hair lightly scratches Dave’s face as their kiss deepens and becomes more insistent. This is like nothing Dave has ever experienced before.

How had he put this off for so long? What kind of idiot _was_ he?

He breathes out through his nose, and he draws back from Klaus to catch his breath. They stay huddled close, their noses brushing and hooded eyes drinking each other in. Klaus leans up slightly, and Dave can feel their cheeks touching.

“What do you say? Should we take this somewhere a little more private?” Klaus’ lips are almost brushing his ear, his breath on Dave’s skin, causing Dave to break out in goosebumps along his arms and neck. 

If Dave’s in for a penny, he’s in for a pound at this point. “Want to come back to my room for a nightcap then?” 

Klaus smirks and gives Dave a light nudge on the shoulders, pushing him out of the alcove and towards the exit. 

Klaus leads Dave back out onto the street with a self-satisfied smile on his face the entire way. They navigate pedestrians and motorcycles as they weave through Saigon’s late-night traffic and towards their motel. 

Klaus notices that Dave has fallen a bit behind, and turns back to tease him. “C’mon slowpoke, we’ve got places to be and sexy things to be doing. Chop! Chop!” 

Dave smiles back at Klaus and jogs lightly to catch up. There are many obvious reasons why pursuing a relationship with Klaus should be a problem. But honestly? There’s also the potential for this to be the best fucking decision Dave has ever made. 

\---------------

**Vietnam/Army Slang Glossary:**

**AO:**  
Area of Operations – terrain assigned to specific units – their responsibility to locate and kill enemy soldiers within that area. Patrols of these areas could last up to one month at a time in the wilderness.

 **C Rations:**  
These individual, canned, pre-cooked meals were issued to U.S. forces when fresh food and survival rations were unavailable, and mess halls or field kitchens were inaccessible.

 **Firebase or Fire Support Base:**  
A fire support base (FSB, firebase or FB) is a military encampment designed to provide indirect fire artillery fire support to infantry operating in areas beyond the normal range of direct fire support from their own base camps. They were intended to be temporary bases for operations; however, many did become permanent. 

**FNG:**  
Fucking New Guy

 **Liberty:**  
Military slang for time off.

 **MPCs:**  
Military payment certificates, or MPC, were a form of currency used to pay U.S. military personnel in certain foreign countries.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m considering making chaos Dave into a series. If you’d like to see more of this universe and characterisation, or if you’re just someone who likes to leave comments, please do so as I will treasure each and every one of them. If you’d like to leave kudos, I’d appreciate that too.


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